MAGNOLIA, Texas -- The Houston Dutch Lions FC has announced that Marco Pruis will become the clubs new Head Coach for the 2014 PDL season. Pruis will be taking over the spot of former Head Coach Hans van Arum. The Dutch Lions are excited to play at their own brand new Soccer Facility having state-of-the-art artificial fields.

The 26-year-old Pruis is the former assistant coach of last year's PDL team and the current Head Coach of the Texas Premier Soccer League Team. With his current team he became the 2013 Texas Cup Champions, while the team is currently on top of the League in the spring regular season were it has already secured a spot for the playoffs for the U.S. Open Cup.

Pruis has high potential of becoming a great coach, President Martin Kroeze said

"Marco is young, very motivated and acts very professional in our organization," Martin Kroeze said. "Marco has a great charisma and gained a lot of respect from his players. I'm very excited to see Marco Pruis in action as our new Head Coach for the PDL 2014 Season and wish him all the best of luck."

"We are very pleased with our new Head Coach Marco Pruis," CEO Dennis Kroeze said. "Since 2012 he improved a lot in each aspect. From being the assistant coach last season of our PDL Team to being the Head Coach of our current TPSL Team, he implements the Dutch philosophy in a great way. Players and staff respect his vision and we believe that he would be a great asset as a Head Coach for our PDL team. Off the field he is recognized as an example to the Woodlands/Conroe soccer community as a coach and community member. We certainly believe that with Marco Pruis being the new Head Coach for the Houston Dutch Lions FC, we can compete against teams such as the Austin Aztex, Laredo Heat, Mississippi Brilla and the Midland/Odessa Sockers. I am looking forward to our 2014 PDL season at our own new Houston Dutch Lions FC Soccer Complex".

Vice-President Robbert Kroeze is very confident having Pruis as the new head Coach of the USL PDL Team.

"Marco is a Coach with a great personality on and off the field," Robbert Kroeze said. "Marco has shown that he can work with a lot of talent. He recently won the Texas Cup and is currently on top of the league with the Texas Premier Soccer League Team. This is already a great achievement for the club.

"Marco Pruis is also part of our Management Team being the Technical Director of the club. Marco has shown over the years that he is a great asset for our club where the decision was not difficult to sign Marco Pruis as our new Head Coach. I am looking forward to the PDL 2014 season". Robbert Kroeze believes that with Marco's experience and returning players from last season added with some new talent we can be among the top teams in the league.

''I am truly honored by this great opportunity provided by Martin Kroeze, Robbert Kroeze and Dennis Kroeze," Pruis saiid. "I enjoyed coaching the Super 20's in 2012 and offered a next opportunity last year by assisting Head Coach Hans van Arum in 2013 at the club's PDL team. Despite the result not showing it last year I believe the Houston Dutch Lions FC has made great steps on and off the field. This year we will have the completion of the first two phases, besides these two beautiful artificial fields we are all very excited about the club house. For us coaches we are looking forward in having a meeting room for video analyses on the same location as our fields.

"I look forward to our first try out round on Saturday, March 15th, we hope to find quality players in each line of the team. We have over 30 players signed up already for our try out so it is looking to be a busy day with lots of talent.

"In 2013 we had great players with lots of potential; these players will have a platform to showcase their talents. With our Texas Premier Soccer League team and Houston Football Association team we have two teams with lots of players with great potential. We enjoy working with these players every week. Our summer teams (PDL, Super 20 and HFA) will be great for these players to showcase their talents on a higher level. We saw last year that current TPSL player Jose Alvarez benefited a lot from being on the training field, and game roster, on a daily base, he has improved so much compared to his start at the Houston Dutch Lions FC back in August 2012. Besides our semi-pro team we also see lots of growth in our Youth Academy, the coaches and myself enjoy working with these talented boys and girls a lot."

For more information about the PDL season please go to our website; www.houstondutchlionsfc.com . We hope to see all of our members and fans this summer cheering on all of our teams.